Apple on Monday announced a new initiative that will help businesses protect themselves against cyber attacks or deal with the aftermath of one. The company partnered with Cisco, Aon, and Allianz, to introduce a new type of product: insurance against cyber incidents.
Cisco and Apple will provide the technology supposed to keep business users secure against cyber threats including malware, ransomware, and other similar threats. Aon and Allianz, meanwhile, will offer cyber resilience evaluation services and insurance coverage against cyber attacks.
Apple explains in the press release that Aon will offer a cyber resilience evaluation, meaning that they’ll assess a company’s “cyber security posture” and recommend ways to improve it.
Cisco, meanwhile, will provide its Ransomware Defense product that’s able to see threats once and block them everywhere. “The solution includes advanced email security, next-generation endpoint protection and cloud-delivered malicious internet site blocking, to strengthen an organization’s defenses against malware, ransomware, and other cyber threats,” the announcement explains.
Apple, meanwhile, will provide hardware solutions including iPhone, iPad, and Mac that come with strong security and always-on hardware encryption. That said, Apple did have to patch a variety of unexpected security issues in the past few months.
“The choice of technology providers plays a critical role in any company’s defense against cyber attacks. That’s why, from the beginning, Apple has built products from the ground up with security in mind, and one of the many reasons why businesses around the world are choosing our products to power their enterprise,” Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said. “iPhone, iPad, and Mac are the best tools for work, offering the world’s best user experience and the strongest security. We’re thrilled that insurance industry leaders recognize that Apple products provide superior cyber protection and that we have the opportunity to help make enhanced cyber insurance more accessible to our customers.”
Allianz, is in charge of the insurance business, providing insurance to Apple and Cisco partners. Again, the new endeavor target business customers not regular consumers. But businesses will have to buy Apple gear and Cisco cyber security products to take advantage of great cyber insurance plans. This certainly seems like a smart play from Apple, which might help it increase its iPhone, iPad, and Mac sales to businesses of all sizes.
A video posted on Cisco’s site explains how the entire process works.
